New Capita-run Civil Service Pension Scheme - problems (what a surprise!)

indiasign

ljayljay said:

Early thoughts on new platform

When I first tried to access site a few days ago I just received an error message, so not very promising.

I am due my deferred pension in approx. 4 months so submitted an online request to MyCSP earlier in November, oblivious to the changeover to Capita. I did not receive an acknowledgement so was unsure if my request had been forwarded to Capita to action.

However, I have just been able to register with the new platform today which was relatively straightforward without any glitches. I am already in receipt of a Premium CS pension & these details were showing correctly. However, there was no information about my deferred pension or online application submitted in November. I was going to resubmit; however, the hyperlinks were incorrectly labelled & only took me to a postal application rather than the online version.

On the positive side I was able to send a secure message within the platform to include an upload of my deferred pension statement.

I don't therefore have any major complaints but would suggest MyCSP & Capita could have communicated in advance, especially the process for anyone wishing to claim pension in the near future. At least it would have been progress if MyCSP sent an acknowledgement of my request earlier in November.

Hopefully, there will still be plenty of time to action my pension timely, although I also fall under the McCloud remedy, so we will see.

Yeah, me and my wife are looking to take early retirement next May, and like you, I’ve already taken my Premium pension, so (hopefully) it should be relatively straightforward to sort out my remaining Alpha entitlement (Hers is similarly straightforward, with just Alpha to be sorted)

But we held off putting in any requests until Capita took over, just in case they got “lost in the shuffle” at MyCSP, especially as they had been striking in the run up to the changeover, because Capita had initially refused to acknowledge the PCS! 🙁

Organist

indiasign said:

Well, having left it a week for the “teething troubles” to be sorted out, I decided to try and register on the new portal and, I have to say, other than a short delay every time I entered some new information, the registration process was fairly pain free. 

Multi factor authentication worked perfectly, I left it the suggested 15 minutes between registering and actually trying to login to my account, and got in with no problems - they even have my length of service correct. That’s the good bit.

However, there are still issues - no beneficiary details (no problem, I understand they’re in the process of being transferred over, or there is a link for adding them again), no ABS (again, no problem, I downloaded mine before the MyCSP site closed down).

Payslips are fine, but the P60 looks wrong (says I have received £X amount, paid £Y tax, but then changes the net “paid” amount to zero. It also still refers to Comet, for some reason! 😀

There’s no retirement modeller, and when you click the alternative link for Early Retirement, it actually takes you to a download for the EPA calculator, which itself is useless, because it won’t let you put any figures in!

So, some bits work, but some still need some “development”

Glad to hear that your payslips are fine. Mine don't show my name but the name of my joint bank account.

sammyjammy

we had a message last week:

The new Civil Service Pension Scheme website and member portal are currently running slowly due to technical issues and the volume of people trying to access the website, portal and phone lines.

Unless you are affected financially, retiring, or part of an exit scheme, we would advise not to attempt to register on the member portal until further guidance is shared. You do not need to worry about your pension, there are no changes to it.

If you do need to register on the member portal, you should try to do it outside peak hours (9am to 5pm). It’s important to note that as part of the transition to the new site and portal, member records are still being updated, so records on the member portal may show incorrect information. If you have tried to register and received an error message advising you to contact Civil Service Pensions, please do not telephone 0800 123 456 or 0370 123 4567 as these telephone numbers are incorrect.

Call volumes to the Member Helpline (0300 123 6666) are extremely high, resulting in longer waiting times. Please contact the helpline outside peak times where possible.

Thank you for your patience and understanding during this transition period.

ToneP

Tried to register again today as they advised last week. Same result 

"We need to discuss your details as some of your information did not match our records. To finish creating your account, please call us on 0300 123 6666 or select Contact us". 

They really are a shambles.

Veed123

I applied to retire after 36 years service six months before my retirement date, my 55th birthday on 30/11/25. I was in touch with MyCSP quite a few times during the process. On 13/11/25 I was assured in a call with them that everything was in order. They would finalise the detail on 24/11/25, my lump sum would be paid a few days after my birthday and that I'd receive a confirmation letter. I called on 25/11/25 to enquire about the letter etc. I was informed that they were in "black out" for the transition and had no details about me to view. I was never informed of a "black out". They also informed me that my Pension would not be received the following week as promised. I've been on the phone every day since 1/12/25 (waiting times an hour at a time before you get through),  today I have been advised my full details have still to migrate, they can't give me a date for this, or a date for receipt of my pension. I have a mortgage and bills to pay soon. The facts that I'm worried about financial hardship and the impact this is having on my mental health mean nothing and I've never been able to get past the call centre to speak to someone more senior. Do not get me started on the "new" Portal! A point of interest though, during one call, the agent intimated that Capita had gone live a bit too early! Too right! This hasn't been a data migration, it's been a quick "swith on" probably to meet a deadline for implementation that should have been pulled until all member information was in the new system! 

suziebr

I managed to sign up, although it took an hour longer than the promised 15 minutes. I also had to use my husband's email address initially, as the verification email was taking 20 minutes to hit my mail box - by which time it had expired. It actually allowed me to then change the linked email address without any further verification emails (despite it telling me that they would require this).
However, all that effort was for nothing. There are no historic ABSs and my beneficiary has vanished, with the form to create one simply not functioning. So I have an account with absolutely no information in it whatsoever. It does have my correct name though....

suziebr

Should I be seeing pay slips, p60s and length of service? if so, where are they displayed? I just have my contact details and national Insurance number.

YellowCarBlueCar

suziebr said:

I managed to sign up, although it took an hour longer than the promised 15 minutes. I also had to use my husband's email address initially, as the verification email was taking 20 minutes to hit my mail box - by which time it had expired. It actually allowed me to then change the linked email address without any further verification emails (despite it telling me that they would require this).
However, all that effort was for nothing. There are no historic ABSs and my beneficiary has vanished, with the form to create one simply not functioning. So I have an account with absolutely no information in it whatsoever. It does have my correct name though....

Same here for my deferred pension.  They have my name and address correct, my marital status wrong, and no sign of any pension or beneficiary.

ClashCityRocker1

i managed to register after a few days of rubbish. I'm partiaally retired and it's goy my payslips since July (I knew they wouldn't have anything else much. Still claims to have a P60 for 2023 but noting opens if I click and no idea what it would show anyway. It also had my pension service in years and days which looked pretty close - but today that has vanished. 

All in all a waste of time so far - and frankly I don't trust Capita one iota, and taking it from MyCSP who the then Government forced to become a Mutual when the staff didn't want to is a complete betrayal.

But it is what it is and we'll have to hope we get pensions paid accurately and promptly.

ClashCityRocker1

Oh and had to reregister my wife as beneficiary.